Department of Health and Social Care

NHS England

Baroness Manzoor: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the overall budget of NHS England, how many staff it has, and how it measures its own performance in driving the delivery of services in primary and secondary care.

Lord Markham: The overall budget for NHS England in 2023/24 is £172.1 billion. NHS England publishes quarterly data on the number of staff working in National Health Service Support Organisations and Central Bodies. The latest data for June 2023 shows there are 16,328 full time equivalent staff employed by NHS England.In May 2023, NHS England published a delivery plan for primary care. Integrated care boards (ICBs) will lead the change for their local health systems as commissioners of primary care. The plan sets out how ICBs are expected to report progress, including though their public board reporting, with national and regional support being offered to any ICBs that are falling behind. A copy of the plan is attached.On elective care, the NHS published a delivery plan in January 2022 setting out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and expand elective services over three years. This includes targets to reduce maximum waiting times, so that waits of longer than a year for elective care are eliminated by March 2025, prioritising diagnosis and treatment so that 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test will receive it within six weeks by March 2025 and transforming the way the NHS provides elective care. A copy of the plan is attached.On urgent and emergency care, performance measures include meeting the ambitions set out in our Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services, published in January 2023, including improving accident and emergency and ambulance performance to 76% of patients being admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours by March 2024, and improved ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes on average over 2023 to 2024, with further improvement against both of these measures towards pre-pandemic levels in 2024 to 2025. A copy of the plan is attached.Attachment (pdf, 636.3KB)Attachment (pdf, 896.8KB)Attachment (pdf, 610.7KB)

NHS: Private Sector

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government how integrated care boards assess the initial and continuing financial stability of private companies from which NHS services are commissioned, and what assessment they have made of the overall financial stability of private companies providing NHS services.

Lord Markham: Integrated care boards (ICBs) assess the financial stability of companies subject to the current rules on procurement, including the Public Contract Regulations 2015. ICBs are responsible for their own due diligence and governance surrounding procurement, the award of contracts, and the assessment of suppliers for those purposes.The Department has not made a central assessment of the overall financial stability of private companies providing services to the National Health Service.

NHS: Private Sector

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision by One Norwich Practices to stop providing services to the NHS, including a walk-in centre, becauseof financial problems, whether they will conduct an investigation into the board of that company and its management of services.

Lord Markham: Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) and One Norwich Practices have been working constructively to identify appropriate alternative providers and develop plans to transfer services and staff. The ICB’s immediate priorities are to ensure that disruption to patient care is minimised and to protect the wellbeing of staff at One Norwich Practices. Once these immediate priorities are addressed, the ICB will be in a position to undertake its own internal review of the circumstances that may have contributed to One Norwich Practices’ insolvency.As a commissioner, the ICB is not in receipt of the financial information of its contractors, and the ICB is not responsible for the financial viability of any organisation, nor any subsequent arrangements, financial or otherwise, within a wider group of companies or partners with whom the ICB does not directly commission services.

Intensive Care: Children

Lord Balfe: To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the report Disagreements in the care of critically ill children published by the Department of Health and Social Care on 18 September, what changes they intend to make to the care of critically ill children and when they anticipate these will come into effect.

Lord Markham: The Department is considering the recommendations made in the report and what actions can be taken to help avoid disagreements arising between the parents of critically ill children and clinicians treating them and, where this is not possible, resolve disagreements more quickly and compassionately.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Water: Standards

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to water quality, what assessment they have made of whether the replacements to the EU Water Framework Directive will result in the improved monitoring of water quality; whether they intend to create a UK specific Hazardous Watch List; and if so, whether this will consider antimicrobial resistance selection risk of chemicals in aquatic environments, as has been included in recent iterations of the EU Water Framework Directive’s Watch List.

Lord Benyon: The Environment Agency (EA) has introduced a new long-term ‘river surveillance network’ monitoring programme for rivers to give a national overview of the state of England’s rivers. It does not replace the Water Framework Directive compliant monitoring which will still continue. This network is a key part of the ‘Natural Capital and Ecosystems Assessment’ which will provide a statistically robust assessment of the health of the water environment. The formalisation of a UK-wide Watchlist would be a matter for the UK and Devolved Administrations. In England the EA has developed a Prioritisation and Early Warning System for new substances of concern and monitors changes to the EU’s Watch List. The EA also works closely with the devolved agencies to share information and approaches to monitoring programmes for emerging chemicals of concern in the water environment, including pharmaceuticals which might contribute to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Further, the UK has set out a 20-year vision for containing and controlling AMR through a One-Health approach. A cross-departmental project called Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (PATH-SAFE) was established in 2021 to understand how pathogens and AMR are spread in the environment and the agri-food system. This will inform future monitoring of the water environment and commitments within the UK National Action Plan on AMR.

Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the combined impacts of microplastics and antimicrobial pollutants in driving antimicrobial resistance emergence in the environment, and what steps they are taking to mitigate these impacts.

Lord Benyon: Defra, the Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency have a joint research programme on antimicrobial resistance in the environment. This includes examination of potential drivers of selection for antimicrobial resistance in environmental organisms. So far, this work has concentrated on the effect of antimicrobials and biocides so has not examined the additional role of microplastics, as this was not identified as likely to have a high impact and therefore be a high priority for the research. However, we continue to consider issues for further investigation as part of our ongoing research where emerging evidence suggests it is needed.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Homelessness: Rural Areas

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what processes are in place for counting and identifying instances of rural homelessness.

Baroness Penn: The Government understands rural homelessness presents unique challenges which can differ from urban areas.We support local areas to put in place robust measures to identify people sleeping rough. This includes collecting monthly management information, alongside the official annual rough sleeping snapshot statistics, which support local authorities to understand better how people experience rough sleeping in their areas so they can design tailored local services.Homeless Link have been funded by DLUHC since 2010 to provide guidance to local authorities who conduct the snapshot and independently verify all local authorities’ snapshots. This includes advice about how areas should take different approaches depending on the characteristics of their area. Rough Sleeping (pdf, 4167.9KB)Support for people sleeping rough (pdf, 1166.6KB)

Treasury

Loans: Interest Rates

Earl Attlee: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Financial Conduct Authority regularly undertakes spot checks of firms offering loans to ensure that the contract details accurately reflect the advertised annual percentage rate of the financial product.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for regulating the consumer credit market. It is part of a robust regulatory system which is helping to deliver the government’s vision for a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which meets consumers’ needs. The FCA oversees firms through its supervision strategy. In the FCA Mission – Approach to Supervision April 2019, the FCA set out that to make the best use of its resources and deliver the greatest public value, it takes a proportionate approach to supervising firms. It supervises most firms as members of a portfolio of firms that share a common business model. It analyses each portfolio and agrees a strategy to take action on firms posing the greatest harm. Firms are required by FCA rules to include a representative APR in certain circumstances. The FCA’s handbook (CONC 3.5) provides further rules and guidance on when a representative APR must be shown, how it should be denoted and the level of prominence it must be given. While not all consumers will get the advertised APR, they should be told in advance of entering into the agreement what APR they have been offered and this will be shown in the pre-contract information required to be given under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. If a customer is concerned that they may have been mis-sold a credit agreement, they may wish to consider making a formal complaint to the firm in question in the first instance. If they then feel that their complaint has not been dealt with satisfactorily, they are able to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) – an independent body set up to provide arbitration in such cases.

Inflation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps theyare taking to maintain consistency in the recent downward trajectory of inflation.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Although recent data shows inflation has halved since it’s peak in October 2022, it remains the biggest challenge to the economy. There are three key things the government is doing to further reduce inflation:Remaining steadfast in our support for the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England as it takes action to return inflation sustainably to the 2% target.Taking difficult, but responsible fiscal decisions by resisting calls for reckless spending that would make inflation worse, reducing borrowing and introducing ambitious measures to support growth. This includes ambitious measures to help people get back into work, investing in clean, home-grown energy, and encouraging banks to pass on higher savings rates.Boosting labour supply, as labour market conditions are a key problem affecting UK businesses’ growth, as well as a significant driver of domestic inflation. Together, the packages at Autumn Statement and Spring Budget 2023 were the two largest increases to labour supply and potential GDP resulting from policy the OBR has ever scored. The IMF said in May that, in response to last year’s inflation shock, the government took “decisive and responsible” action to prioritise restoring price stability and achieve the right balance of fiscal and monetary response, while also focusing on growing the economy. The government remain committed to seeking the right balance between fiscal and monetary policy as the UK continues to navigate challenging circumstances. The OBR confirms policies at the Autumn Statement do not materially impact inflation or demand as we continue to support the MPC to return inflation to the 2% target.

Cost of Living

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Autumn Statement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 22 November (HC Deb cols 325–57), what assessment they have made of impact of the level of taxation on individuals struggling with the increased cost of living.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: In recent years the government has taken significant action to support lower earners through the tax system. The significant increase to the NICs starting thresholds in July 2022 means that all workers can now earn £1,000 a month before paying any tax. A UK employee can earn more money before paying income tax and Social Security Contributions than an employee in any other G7 country. At Autumn Statement 2023, the Government cut the main rate of employee National Insurance by 2pp from January 2024, as well as cutting and reforming taxes for the self-employed from April 2024. As a result of above-inflation increases to thresholds since 2010, and the Autumn Statement 2023 NICs cut, an average worker in 2024-25 will pay over £1,000 less in personal taxes than they otherwise would have done. From April, a full time National Living Wage worker’s take home pay will be 30% greater in real terms than it was in 2010, due to successive increases in the National Living Wage and changes to personal tax rates and thresholds.

Department for Business and Trade

Trade Promotion: Uzbekistan

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government which directorate produces the list of invitees for the Uzbek–British Trade and Industry Council; and what are the criteria for selection for the invitees.

Lord Offord of Garvel: The British Embassy have set up a registration site that is open to all interested parties. The event is published publicly on the GREAT website, and the Department for Business and Trade and Uzbekistan's Ministry of Investment work together to amplify and raise awareness of the event among businesses. No criteria is applied to those that wish to register and attend.

Trade Promotion: Turkmenistan

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government which directorate produces the list of invitees for the Turkmenistan United Kingdom Trade and Industry Council; and what are the criteria for selection for the invitees.

Lord Offord of Garvel: The Turkmen Government choose participants on their side, made up mainly of government ministries, but of late, with business representatives. On the UK side, the British Embassy in Ashgabat suggests companies that might be interested in joining, in consultation with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Department for Business and Trade. Our criteria is to identify companies with an interest in exporting to the market.

Trade Promotion: Kazakhstan

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government which directorate produces the list of invitees for the Kazakh–British Trade and Industry Council; and what are the criteria for selection for the invitees.

Lord Offord of Garvel: The Kazakh-British Trade and Industry Council no longer exists.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Internet: Fraud

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the risks of online scams, particularly for those with limited digital skills.

Viscount Camrose: This Government is committed to protecting those who are most vulnerable to online scams.The Online Safety Act will require social media providers to take steps to safeguard their users from illegal scams and fraudulent advertising. In overseeing the framework, Ofcom must ensure that there are adequate protections for those that are most vulnerable to online harm.The legislation also expands Ofcom’s duty to promote media literacy under the 2003 Communications Act. The regulator is now required to raise the public’s awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe online. It will need to publish a strategy for achieving this, which must be updated every three years.In tandem, the Government is taking action to improve people’s media literacy more widely. In July 2021, we published the Online Media Literacy Strategy. This seeks to support the empowerment of internet users with the skills they need to make safe and informed choices online. Through the Strategy, the Government is funding multiple organisations to support the media literacy and critical thinking skills of vulnerable internet users.

Ministry of Justice

Residence Orders

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government how many transfers ofresidency orders have been issued by family courts in the past two years; and of those, (1) how many were issued following findings or allegations of parental alienation, and (2) how many were made in favour of a parent previously accused of child sexual abuse.

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse perpetrated by a parent have been heard in private law family proceedings in the past two years; and how many findings of child sexual abuse were made in those proceedings.

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government how manycases involving allegations of parental alienation or alienating behaviours have been heard in private law family proceedings in each of the past five years; and how many findings of parental alienation or alienating behaviours were made in those proceedings.

Lord Bellamy: Transfers of residency orders, incidences of findings of child sexual abuse in private law proceedings, and cases involving allegations of parental alienation or alienating behaviours are not recorded centrally. Such information could only be obtained by analysis of individual case files at disproportionate costs. Regarding the term “parental alienation”: as part of his judgment in the case of Re C, the President of the Family Division outlined that most family judges regard the label of “parental alienation”, and the idea that it “may be a diagnosable syndrome” as being “unhelpful”. He noted that instead the courts should focus on identifying any specific “alienating behaviours”.